Welcome to Drawing Matters. May has been a busy month with a residential course in Wales and a London one starts tomorrow - hence the lateness of this newsletter so apologies for that. All the courses for next year are now full but if you want to go on a waiting list in case someone drops out please contact me below. Those on my email mailing list are always the first to hear about new course dates so if you are disappointed please contact me below and I will make sure you are on that list for next time. In this month's newsletter you will find:

• Information about the content 5-day Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain course, devised by Dr. Betty Edwards. This includes links for viewing a slideshow of participants' work and reading course feedback.


• UK Course Dates for 2011 Details of courses for this year


• Focusing on nothing The Importance of Negative Space


• Last Chance to See: Watteau The Royal Academy in London has the first major retrospective of Watteau's drawings


• We're on Facebook Learn to Draw Right now has a page on Facebook


• Drawing Matters Facebook Group has now been created so why not join it and keep in touch with fellow artists around the world...

If your computer only allows you to view a text only version of this newsletter you can see the colour version with colour images here

I hope you will find Drawing Matters interesting and I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions from you. Please feel free to forward it to anyone who you think might be interested. There is a link at the bottom of the page where they can subscribe.
You can contact me here

Anna Black
Certified Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain instructor, operating under license from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (www.drawright.com)

Course Dates 2011

All places are now taken but please contact me if you'd like to be added to a waiting list.

• 35 Hours of teaching
• The Drawing Portfolio (RRP Over £70)*see note below.
  

  This course is now full. Please contact me if you'd like to go on a waiting list in case a place becomes available
  
  

  
  
  
  LONDON: 15th - 19th August 2011 This course is full
  
  WHERE? Amadeus Centre, Shirland Road, Little Venice, London W9 HOW MUCH? £475 plus accommodation and full board
  
  

  EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT £50 off Special Course Fee price of £425 if you book and pay in full before 1st April 2011

  
  Course fee includes:
  • 35 Hours of teaching
  • The Drawing Portfolio (RRP Over £70)*see note below.
    

    This course is now full. Please contact me if you'd like to go on a waiting list in case a place becomes available
    
    The contents of the Drawing Portfolio were designed by Dr Betty Edwards and Brian Bomeisler. It includes all the materials you will need for the course, including drawing tools unique to Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. These unique tools were developed by Brian Bomeisler based on those used by the Old Masters. The Portfolio and its contents are yours to take home and keep.
    
    UNITED STATES
    If you are interested in purchasing the portfolio separately or for courses in the United States with Brian Bomeisler, follow the link at the bottom of the page.
    
    MAILING LIST
    If you would like to be among the first to hear about new course dates in the UK as soon as they are announced please contact me to be added to the mailing list.
    
    View a slideshow of student drawings and class photos
    If you are interested in booking for next year but you are still sceptical that you will really learn the basic skills of drawing in just five days, why don't you view a slideshow showing some drawings done by participants on the course here (a new window will open)
    
    
    Read participants' feedback on the course devised by Dr Edwards and taught by Anna Black
    
    
    

    "I have learnt that actually I can draw which has been a bit of a shock! I think the whole course has been beautifully weighted in terms of theory, explanation and practice... I will be highly recommending this course to others.
    You can also read some participant feedback and a more indepth account of one participant's experience here (a new window will open)
    

    To find out more about how the course is structured and what you will learn, click here
    
    

    For further information and a booking form, click here
    
    
    Read what the media and other people have thought of Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain course here ( a new window will open)
    
    

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    FOCUSING ON NOTHING: NEGATIVE SPACE

    Culturally we usually focus on an object rather than the space around it. When we sit down to draw something most of us focus all our attention on the subject itself. However, if we do the opposite and draw the space around the object many of the problems that arise in drawing are solved. Focusing on and drawing negative space means we get the positive shape/object for free. There are other benefits too:
    • When drawing we can get tangled up in our deeply-embedded symbol system which means we draw what we think we see rather than what we actually see. If we draw negative space we are essentially drawing nothing - there is no symbol to get in the way and this makes the whole process much easier.
    • Many compositional problems are solved and a drawing which focuses on negative space will be much stronger in terms of composition as all of the drawing is of equal importance.
    So how can you practice this?
    • Choose an object that is quite complex - a corkscrew, a bunch of keys, a close up of leaves or twigs etc
    • Draw your format on the paper ie. a border (it can be any shape). This will reinforce the sense that all the space within the border/shape is your drawing area.
    • If you have a viewfinder you can draw cross hairs on your format to match your viewfinder which will help you navigate around your drawing. If you don't have a viewfinder, don't worry you can still do a negative space drawing! You can use your hands/fingers to create a square window which will help determine your composition.
    • Decide on the boundaries of your composition. Keep it quite tight and focused in quite closely. Ideally have some part of your object touching the boundary of your format/composition.
    • When you start drawing it may be helpful to start at the edge of your format.
    • Slowly work through the drawing, drawing shape next to adjacent shape but always focusing on the space between and around the subject. It is like piecing a jigsaw... if you stay focused on what shape/line connects to what you can't get lost.
    • This type of drawing is a great way to practice your skills and I think all negative space drawings have a distinct beauty about them. Here is a work-in-progress of a negative space drawing of a rose bush growing against a wall which a student on the recent residential 5-day course did as an additional drawing.

      

      
      
      

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      LAST CHANCE TO SEE... WATTEAU DRAWINGS

      You have until June 5th to see this wonderful exhibition at the Royal Academy London.

      I can't recommend it highly enough. Drawings seen in the flesh are much more alive than reproductions ever can be and there is so much one can learn by seeing works such as these. I love the simplicity of red chalk drawings - perhaps supplemented with a bit of black and white chalk. Drawings are rarely on display in permanent collections due to their fragility so I think it's always worth seizing every opportuntity to see any drawing exhibition.

      This is first major retrospective exhibition of Jean-Antoine Watteau’s (1684 – 1721) drawings to be held in the UK. The exhibition is on until 5th June 2011.
      You can find out more about the RA exhibition here
      

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      Visit Learn to Draw Right on Facebook

      Visit Learn to Draw Right on Facebook here
      You can keep in touch by just becoming a Fan by clicking on the relevant button.

      Also, there is now a DRAWING MATTERS FACEBOOK GROUP page you can join. This is interactive and like any group is only as good as its contributors so this is the place you can ask questions, answer other people's questions, share tips etc etc. here
      
      

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      Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain USA

      To find out about Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain courses run by Brian Bomeisler in the USA visit www.drawright.com
      

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      www.learn-to-draw-right.com
      Anna Black
      London, UK

      Contact Anna here

      
      
      © Anna Black, London, UK 2007
      Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
      is a registered trademark of
      Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Inc.,
      and is used here under licence

      
      SBI!